2 Maccabees 15:1–4

¹When Nicanor heard that Judas and his men were in the region of Samaria, he made plans to attack them with complete safety on the day of rest. ²And when the Jews who were compelled to follow him said, “Do not destroy so savagely and barbarously, but show respect for the day which he who sees all things has honored and hallowed above other days,” ³the thrice-accursed wretch asked if there were a sovereign in heaven who had commanded the keeping of the sabbath day. ⁴And when they declared, “It is the living Lord himself, the Sovereign in heaven, who ordered us to observe the seventh day,”